Royal Liver Building, Iron Railings And Stone Piers Surrounding Royal Liver Building

The Royal Liver Building, surrounded by iron railings and stone piers, is an office building constructed between 1908 and 1910 by architect Aubrey Thomas. It features a concrete frame clad in granite and stands eight storeys tall, with an additional two storeys of attics. The building is composed of nine bays, with 13-bay returns. The front façade includes four giant buttress projections, each one bay wide, with the middle two framing a semi-circular portico supported by Ionic columns and topped with a balustraded parapet. Above this, there is a smaller semi-circular projecting window featuring a shield of arms and Ionic columns. The ground and first floors are rusticated, with round-arched windows on the ground floor. The upper floors, specifically the second, third, seventh, and eighth bays, are recessed behind a parapet and scrolls. The windows are designed with mullions and transoms, typically featuring three lights, while those in the projecting bays have transoms only. The fifth and sixth floors have round-headed recesses with balconies. The top floor is recessed behind a Doric colonnade and is adorned with a frieze and bracketed cornice. The attics recede and are capped with parapets, while the roof is embellished with turrets and domes in receding stages. The building is topped with clock towers that have copper liver birds. The surrounding iron railings and stone piers enhance the overall grandeur of this significant structure, which is recognized as one of the first multi-storey concrete framed buildings in the world.